I may need to do that at some point. Is the Q70 a separate fare/ticket from the LIRR Penn to Woodside? How/where do I pay?

Thanks...

The Q70 is $2.50. Pay using exact change cash or a Metrocard.
You can also use the trains 7EFMR to get to either 61 St Woodside or 74th St Broadway to get to the Q70 bus.

After meetings in midtown in the late afternoon, I never take a cab/uber anymore because of unpredictable traffic getting out of midtown. 45 minutes door-to-door from office to LGA

Agreed 100%.

This past weekend I went to a dinner-show. Tickets were bought at the door which included dinner, served during the show. The server made a comment part way through saying that gratuity wasn't included and at the end of the show, they'd leave a tip plate at each table.

I don't generally carry cash, and have no idea how to value their service. Tickets were $50/person, and the food was a pre-set meal, pretty basic (chicken, potato, soup), which I'd value at probably $12-15/person at a normal restaurant. So I tipped $5 for the two of us.

Was I cheap? Maybe. But assuming that that same type of meal at a chain restaurant would be $25-30, $5 would be 17-20%. There was no way she provided 20% of the full ticket price ($100) worth of service, and I personally value the performers more than the server etc.

That's right! And there shouldn't be unions either. Unions just give workers an inflated sense of their value. Worst of all is the idea of a minimum income. Austria has a minimum guaranteed income, and it's a disaster, it's sapped the population of any kind of initiative.

I've been in Vienna.

Hell on earth.

Hell.

On.

Earth.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

"The Q70 is $2.50."

Local bus fares in NYC are now $2.75. Subway fare is $2.75 with Metrocard, or $3.00 with a single-ride ticket.

Metrocard gives a free transfer from subway to bus, and vice versa.

For a $52.00 fare I'd have paid $60.00 and told him to keep the change representing a tip of just over 15%. I expect that extra $3.00 over the OP's tip is worth more to a cabbie than it is to me and it's definitely not worth me getting into a fuss about. YMMV.

I usually tip in cash when I tip a cabbie. There are some cultural differences in my country, and sometimes the owner asks the employees to either not accept or give their tips to a pool. I've worked at places where the policy is, "You don't own the place. Money coming in as tips belongs to the owner".

If there was a fair way to compensate cabbies, it would be to pay in cash, pay 20 percent on a short ride, 12 percent on a longer ride. 20 percent if the driver is also a guide or has gone on a long ride away from his area.

Is it reasonable for a person to ask for tips, or to provide bad service if the tip isn't very high? Many people I know think it's lowbrow to both overtip and undertip. I've gone on dates where the date tells me that I should tip and how much. (Especially in situations where 10-18 percent is not fair compensation for a very complex meal or if we have received special attention).

I have been places where the bill was 15, and I gave 30 dollars, and the waiter brought me 15 dollars change. In that situation, overtipping was just as offensive as undertipping.

Pay cash, choose your tip.

I'm with the when in Rome guys...but...
 

...we have a corporate policy of no tips over 15%...that's resto's/cabs whatever. I turn in that receipt and I get accounting on my butt.
Sorry but 18-20% for a cab is ridiculous.

lyft has a tipping opton

Uber doesn't (their service says "hey, no tips needed!"), but a lot of drivers expect cash tips, and will rate you lowly if you don't tip

As a former NYC taxi driver and bartender, I guess I'm especially sensitive to this issue...

Like it or not, the pay structure and (often minimal) benefits for taxi drivers, waitresses, etc. in the USA is such that tips make a big difference in their incomes. And in the spirit of when in Rome, do as the Romans do, tips of at least 15 percent are normal when decent service is delivered. In NYC the average tip is probably higher than the rest of the country, but 15 percent is still acceptable.

Taking all of these factors into mind, I always tip at least 15 percent unless the service is subpar and (given my background) sometimes tip a lot more for very good service.

Having said all that, I agree that the minimum of an automatic 18 percent taxi tip is ridiculous and that a taxi driver should not be rude about a sub-15 percent tip.